on this sunday night, the final 48 hours in the race for president. a frantic final push on the campaign trail, obama and romney making a mad dash through the swing states. meantime, tempers flare. tonight a final poll on where this race stands and how sandy could impact the election. plus the new big storm closing in threatening to disrupt a massive recovery operation. and making a difference, the marathon may be off, but the race is on to help some of the hardest hit victims of the storm. from our election home, "nightly news" begins now.

good evening. in just over 48 from now, the first polling places here on the east coast will close in the presidential election. the final "countdown" is on and the gut check moment has arrived for president obama and governor romney as they make the crucial decisions as to where and how to marshall their resources into places they can still make a difference. and tonight, we're about to release the results of our time poll in this race, a last-minute snapshot that could give both camps a reason for hope and anxiety. and how the hurricane sandy disaster has affected this race. let's start with our political director and chief white house correspondent chuck todd who's just below me here on democracy plaza. >> let's get right to the numbers, the president with a very narrow lead, 48% to 47%.

this is almost last close presidential election we had which is when president bush also had a 48% to 47% lead. among early voters, president obama with a seven-point advantage here. four in ten voters may vote early this year. and in the battle ground states, the president's got a four-point lead and that's within the margin of error. in the northea let me show you where there may be a sandy effect, and that is the idea of which candidate has better leadership qualities. a week earlier, governor romney led the polls, but now you see

president obama leads. in the middle class, the president leads by n'k11, value versus the economy. and watching the exhausting travel schedule has been like watching a pair of prize fighters in the 12th round. let's get right out on to the campaign trail, along with kristen welker with the president in cincinnati. >> reporter: good evening to you lester. president obama campaigns here in must-win ohio tonight with music legend stevy wonder kicking thing off. with this race too close to call, president obama is enlisting his biggest su egest s and supporters to help him close this deal. president obama in the final sprint of this deadlocked race, stopping first in concord, new hampshire today. >> let's go get them, new hampshire. >> and then to hollywood, florida. >> are you fired up?

>> reporter: mr. obama will travel several thousand miles, stopping in ohio, colorado, wisconsin. today the president enlisted one of the most high profile democrats to fire up voters. former president bill clinton. president obama even borrowing president clinton's campaign song. president clinton slammed romney. >> he's tying himself into knots saying he didn't oppose what he didn't oppose. >> reporter: and obama -- >> we know what change looks like and he ain't it. >> reporter: and president obama

confused the former presidents. that ad th that. >> that ad that you have seen that president clinton bankrupted the auto industry so that china could buy it. >> we're in commanding position, but our big challenge new is to make sure that we execute and get our vote out. >> reporter: michelle obama will join the president in iowa for his final event tomorrow night. kristen welker, nbc news, traveling with the president in cincinnati, ohio. meantime tonight mitt romney is barrelling through a few states of his own. >> reporter: anticipating a dramatic finale -- >> two more days. two more days and we can get to work rebuilding our country. >> reporter: mitt romney this weekend is racing through eight

events in seven states. >> we have got to change course because unless we do, we may be looking at another recession. let's make sure we get everyone out to vote on tuesday. >> reporter: governor romney's carefully crafted final pitch that he would be a bipartisan leader. and he has this new line -- >> don't boo, vote. voting is the best revenge. >> they asked their supporters to vote for revenge. for revenge. instead i ask the american people to vote for love of country. >> reporter: and while upbeat, mr. romney made this acknowledgement. >> if the president were to be re-elected. >> boo! >> it's possible. but not likely. >> reporter: this afternoon, new jersey governor chris christie

who praised president obama's leadership in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, said he's still voting for mitt romney. >> i am voting for mitt romney, but that doesn't mean that i can't turn to president obama and say thank you. >> reporter: romney advisors are projecting confidence and claiming a more enthusiastic base. >> there's a gap on the side of republicans. >> reporter: late saturday mrs. romney rallied supporters in cleveland. >> i'm feeling it r you feeling it? >> reporter: i'm peter alexander

traveling with governor romney in pennsylvania. >> i want to first talk to you about those numbers, about the leadership question, saying that president obama may have gotten a sandy bounce. is there anything that romney can do in that case or does he have to be on the sidelines? >> he is on the sidelineses, there's no question about it. in talking to the president today, they maintain that their zeta is unchanged. he would win bagsd on -- the reality is chris christie is now having to go out of his way to say he's still voting for mitt romney. he did provide him a boost. mitt romney needs to lead, let's face it the country is starved for it at the moment which is why i think it resonates. >> they both really have reason to be confident now, don't they?

>> they have reason to be confident because you saw our poll, it's deadlocked, neck and neck. now it's whether they get their supporters to the polls, this very sophisticated report that the president has had years to vote on. building for mitt romney, perhaps stalled a bit when attention was taken off of him during sandy and during the recovery, whether that passion can be reignited and in his closing message, reaching out to moderates, reaching out to bipartisanship whether that ignites people and gets them to the polls. >> and your thoughts quickly on president clinton's appearance on the campaign trail. >> having covered bill and hillary clinton, this is the anniversary of bill clinton's '92 race. you can see him absolutely energized and igniting these

crowds, he's the closer for barack obama. >> they have got to get young people and might norities out t vote. in florida, anger and frustration today in miami where voters lined up to cast absentee ballots after being cut off from the early voting deadline yesterday. what happened there and other potential election problems. >> reporter: frustrated voters juice the miami-dade election office this afternoon. they had come after the county announced it would open its doors to provide an accept absentee ballots today. but so many voters showed up that election officials were overwhelmed. they shut their doors and then decided to reopen.

the democratic party ensued to extend early voters after some voters were stuck on line for hours. >> i have waited five hours now. >> reporter: election officials are bracing for lots of potential voting problems on tuesday, especiallily in the key battleground states n ohio, experts say because of confusion over new absentee ballot rules, more than 200,000 voters may be forced to cast provisional ballots that won't be counted until ten days after election day. >> there's a realistic chance that we will not know which candidate won the election in ohio. >> reporter: citizen groups like tea to vote, a tea party offshoot who says it's trained more than a million poll watchers to look out for voter fraud. liberal activist groups are saying they're employing their own poll watchers. >> we will be watching the poll

watchers to make sure they are not acting as bullies. >> reporter: meanwhile hurricane sandy's devastation has swamped election plans in the northeast. officials are faced with flooded buildings and power outages are besieged. >> actually the timing of the storm was horrible for us respecting people's ability to get to the polls. >> reporter: this weekend the state announced it will let voters displaced by sandy e-mail or fax their ballots in. and military trucks may be deployed as backup polling stations. all these issues could lead to an election storm that leads to confusion and even chaos at the polls on tuesday. we want to let you know that brian williams and our entire political team will be with you every step of the way on election night. our coverage begins at 7:00, 6 central on tuesday night. amid the long lines for gas

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we're back now with a long road to recovery facing thousands of families hit hard by superstorm sandy. in addition to the immediate needs of food and gas, there's a new emerging crisis. where are they all going to live in the weeks and months ahead? nbc's michelle franzen is on the jersey shore tonight. >> reporter: good evening, lester, aside from our light this neighborhood is in darkness. an hour earlier thanks to the time change and also an early cold night for residents hunkering down in their homes, those still without power. now tonight, new jersey's governor says fema has extended public assistance for all 21 counties in the state a big step as officials here and in new york try to overcome a challenge. in the blue collar fishing towns

of highlands, new jersey amber moskowitz is surrounded by debris. >> we're safe, but it killed us, we lost all our pictures and memories. >> what we're worried about right now is that it's so cold they can't stay? their homes. >> the reality of not know what's next has set in. >> look at that, i don't know how that's going to be repaired. >> reporter: today homeland security secretary janet napolitano toured neighborhoods. >> our goal is to get people out of the shelters now as quickly as possible into something more stable, more satisfying. >> reporter: meanwhile the crisis at the pump continues, with drivers lining up at the

pump to fill up and rationing in place in new jersey until supply can catch up with demand. >> part of the gas thing is that people are worried it's going to run out, it's not going to run out. >> in new york city, ferry sciee back online for tomorrow's commute. but for thousands still without power a crisis is emerging. >> one of the great fears we have with cold weather coming we have to make sure that people can stay warm and among the hardest hit, the rockaways in staten island. >> governmetonight the first ma donation from pepsico and walmart. >> reporter: in staten island, victims waited five days before help arrived. >> please start going door to door and ask some of the owners

if they need anything. >> reporter: in queens more than 100 homes burned to the ground in a raging file fueled by sandy, a church service offered comforting words and a new determination. >> we don't have any crystal balls that will tell us how breezy point will be rebuilt. do not abandon your hope because only hope sustains us. >> reporter: volunteers and military teams continue to travel across the country to help in the recovery effort. the latest, 400 marines helping out in staten island. >> there is another big storm headed toward the region. we're joined tonight by w channel meteorologist kelly cass. >> this is the last thing we need in the northeast, and remember all those protective dunes have been washed away by

sandy so obviously we have some store fronts and residential areas that could be hit with another storm. we'll be dealing with a lot of rain and very windy conditions. it's going to start off on the southeast coast, affecting basically election day. that nor'easter co-moves up the coast, very strong winds traveling up the northeast and those winds will be sustained between 25 and 30 miles an hour, but gusting as high as 50 miles an hour. we could be looking at two to three inches of rainfall. coastal flooding is a huge concern. right now it looks like ohio will be clear, back to you, lester. >> kelly, thank you and we're back in a moment with some of the other day's news.

we're back now with some of the day's other news. in pittsburgh, a boy was killed

when he fell about 14 feet into an enclosure at a zoo and was mauled by a pack of wild dogs. zoo officials entered the enclosure and used tranquilizer darts, but it was too late to save the boy. there was a big blast right in the heart of damascus, a car bomb went off near one of the city's largest hotels. when we come back here on this sunday night, the marathon is off, but that doesn't stop thousands from putting on their running shoes today making a difference on the path to recovery. that's why dentures require special care. make polident® part of your daily routine. polident's unique microclean formula cleanses gently. it releases antimicrobial agents, including active oxygen,

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the view here in democracy pla plaza, finally when they cancelled the new york marathon, many found themselves with nothing to do after the storm. many felt they could make a difference in the lives of those hardest hit. >> reporter: after the staten island ferry, it felt like the marathon. >> 600 garbage bags, if everybody can take a garbage bag. >> 1,000 runners suddenly with time on their hands were ready to deliver supplies.

this is the boat that could have taken them over to the starting line this morning. instead they're going to statten island to help, they're man thonners, they have a lot of energy. the father-daughter team from the west coast, they were relieved when the race was cancelled. i didn't think could have felt good about it knowing that all these people were cold and carrying all they own on their backs. >> so they were running. baby wipes, batteries. >> flashlights whatever people need. >> there was anger in this community last week when michael bloomberg said the race would go on, especially with food, water and generators were piled up for the race, not the residents.

now the runners delivered those same supplies and lended a has been where it was needed. >> i'm glad the run was cancelled and they're just able to lend a helping hand. >> in some ways canceling it did the same thing. that's nbc "nightly news" for this sunday. up next, football night in america, followed by sunday night football, the cowboys take on the falcons. i'm lester holt reporting from democracy plaza here in new york. for all of us here at nbc news, good night.